Disappearing Act
by GeekyContradiction
Summary: "Noting the cheery air about the woman, Scorpius thanked Merlin that it was only a missing person's case as opposed to a murder investigation." Witches and Wizards are going missing and it's up the Auror department to figure out what's going on before it's too late, but investigating isn't always easy with a family- even a surrogate one- like the Weasleys.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, simple as that**

**Prologue**

As the wind howled around the near lifeless building, a figure crept into the darkest recesses, ignoring the heavy weather. The majestic columns that usually held such grandeur and power only cast a dark and abandoned scene as they were covered in by a limitless shadow. Near pitch black hallways and empty rooms gave way only to a few seemingly insignificant lights- small candles, revealing only the smallest of areas. The entire edifice appeared to have been swallowed by an aura of doom and despair in the black of night, but the figure was undeterred, weaving through the maze of corridors and arches effortlessly.

The mysterious creature stole amongst the eeriest of statues and most diurnally lively of paintings, careful not to wake their occupants yet unflinching in its shadowed endeavor. Its steps were light and precise while the remainder of its body was poised and aware, listening to the slightest of movements within the halls. For the most part, the rigid and alert composure was unnecessary, being almost entirely alone in the seemingly endless abyss, but caution was a necessity. There was no room for error, and even the slightest mistake would bring the plan tumbling down along with the sounds of metal bars and haunted screams.

The being shook its head, breaking out of its directly focused trance, before continuing to creep with the cover of the night. Minutes seemed to stretch into eternities until it approached the point of no return. Scattered bits of metal were strewn across the floor of the cement room and the solid ceiling bars hung dangerously low, unseen and hidden with the lack of light, but it soldiered on, sweat beginning to form in droplets upon its skin, bobbing through the cold air in calculated movements. It was graceful and it was precise; it was a dance. Through the pipes and the channels, the creature slipped every movement as natural as walking or breathing.

Finally, the Terpsichore ended and, peering around, searching for an unwanted witness, it pulled out a small glass vial. Taking a moment to relish in pride at its creation-the colorless and nearly odorless liquid contained inside the bottle - the figure located the vat in the darkest corner of the room and the glass dish sitting to the right of it. It grabbed the saucer, already filled with the necessary contents, and the last few drops of the liquid fell, leaving what the creature knew were noticeable signs of tampering in the sandy mixture. The powder assimilated the concoction, eradicating the evidence, leaving it to hope that the project had worked. Slowly, the shadowed being placed all back where it had been, careful to be exact, and silently slipped out of the cold basement. It rounded corners and slunk up staircases, ever so carefully, until reaching the grand foyer- the previously uninhabited entrance- which had since been occupied by two guards. Taking quick note of the wands clasped in each of the sentry's hand, it retracted back into the shadows cast by their light and stilled.

"Why again do we have to patrol? This place is protected by some of the strongest wards on the whole planet. "From its sheltered hiding spot, it could just barely hear the man speak, even with the reverberating echoes caused by the cavernous architecture.

"Yeah well, they said that before and Mr. Potter had no problem breakin' in all those years ago." The first guard seemed to take that as a valid argument and the stone halls were once again filled with silence. The figure slipped in through the columns, careful to time it just well enough to avoid being seen, until it came to the last of the giant pillars and waited, once again, not making a sound. Eventually the guards, having gone through their rounds within the room, retreated to another room in the expansive building and it fled as quickly as possible outside. It continued skirting along the shadows until it reached the edge of the grounds, where it began running, hurrying to put distance between the premises and it. After the figure, only visible by the moonlight above, had reached a safe distance, the popping noise denoting disapparation cut through the air and the creature disappeared.

A short time later, distant, haunting, and tortured screams cried out into the night, kilometers away. The being looked on, its face the embodiment of sick pleasure as the woman before him became more battered and bruised. Dark discolorations littered her body, contrasting with the unhealthy and unearthly pallor of her skin. The once crisp suit she wore was torn in too many places to count and her dark hair was bleached and plastered to her head with dried crimson blood, almost making her unrecognizable. Her pained shrieks shot out again before her voice, hoarse from all the abuse, broke and sound refused to come out. Her torturer, both unhappy that she had stopped and pleased with the evidence of his work, moved on and began directing his efforts towards the man next to her.

He too was bound, skin rubbed raw from attempts to be freed from the coarse rope, with injuries even worse than hers. The poor man's eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, caused by the nightmares that would accompany all attempts. His breaths came out in gasps, being offered no respite from the harsh treatment that he had come to expect, and any attempts to speak came out strangled. Lacerations covered his arms and legs, half healed in a cruel effort to keep him alive and away from hopes of peace. Eventually, their kidnapper stopped and, once again, moved towards the last of his captives, still asleep and barely marked. It raised its wand and prepared to strike, releasing pain incarnate towards the sleeping girl as she awoke and cried out. Tears, bloody tears, fell from her eyes as her high- pitched squeals shot through the darkness until finally, it halted the torture and left its victims to wonder when their pain would stop.

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**Author's Note**

**Okay, so sorry that it's sorta short. I swear that the rest of the chapters are longer, but I figured that there was only so much depressing images that I could write and left the prologue as is.**

**Today is the one year anniversary of my first story on Fanfiction (At least, I'm pretty sure it is) and so, I just wanted to post this sort of sneak peak at the story before I can promise consistent updates. I know that it sounds really gruesome but this is the only chapter that is going to be that depressing. It just so happens that I'm posting it in celebration, (I don't know about you but that sounds really sadistic to me) so please don't get any wrong ideas about me.**

**Okay, last order of business, I would just like to point out that I am not English and, therefore, probably do not have a very good handle on speaking differences (Like flashlight being torch) so, if I mess up- and I probably will- feel free to correct me.**

**Question of the Chapter**

**Who is your favorite Harry Potter character and/or pairing?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it**

**Exuberance, Body Swaps, and Other Assorted Childishness**

"Honey, I'm home!" The only reward received for Scorpius' brilliantly eloquent words was a rather pointed-and fleeting- look from the redhead sitting on the couch. Rather than let Rose's less than exuberant reply dishearten him, he merely smiled even wider and took a place next to his girlfriend, throwing his long legs haphazardly onto her lap, purposefully executing his master plan for gaining her attention. When his footrest didn't respond to his taunting, he began playing with a piece of her hair, gently twisting and teasing it between his fingers, and prepared for the interminable wait that he knew was sure to follow. Still she didn't speak or move or even acknowledge his intentionally encompassing presence.

So, with the patience of a saint, he waited...

... And waited...

...And waited until Rose deemed him worthy enough to hold her attention. In what seemed like an eternity to Scorpius- but was actually only a few minutes in reality- the first signs of her crumbling resolve began to peek through in the form of an amused yet very, very tiny smile gracing her freckled features.

It was so small that it was almost nonexistent, but it was enough to tide Scorpius over till the end of their game, knowing that he'd captivated her attention. Finally, a few silence-filled seconds later, she gingerly put the book she was holding down and turned her head so as to face her boyfriend with only a single sentence falling off of her lips.

"Don't ever- and I mean ever, say that again." The only half-serious tone in her voice was all the prompting he needed to break out in an ear-to-ear grin reminiscent of a young child.

"Aren't you going to ask what I'm so happy about?" Rose wordlessly shook her head, relishing in the puppy dog look that appeared and filled her boyfriend's features. It was so rare that he came home in such a mood that she knew she had to take advantage of the situation and experiment with the spectrum of reactions that she could elicit. "All right then. How about I make you a deal of sorts?" The childish countenance shifted to a more pensive one and she was almost sad to see the unfiltered joy in his eyes go, but her sadness was quickly overcome by a curiosity as to what had caused it. She tapped her tongue against the upper right corner of her mouth, a habit she had no doubt picked up from Albus, and signaled for him to continue with his proposition.

"How about I make you some tea and then, as payment, you listen to my story?"

She let out a small laugh and he, taking it as a yes, walked towards the kitchenette and began the task of making tea for the two of them. It was only about two minutes- and string of rather colorful cuss words directed towards all muggles and their methods of making tea-  
later that he dropped two sugar cubes in her faded red cup and returned to previous position sprawled across the couch, drinks in hand.

Rose was not afraid to admit that she loved watching him attempt to use any form of muggle technology as he always ended up either hurting or confusing himself while doing it. Four years and she still hadn't managed to teach him how to use the toaster properly. In all fairness, it wasn't as if he'd grown up with the appliances in the way she had, but it was still absolutely hilarious to watch him to try to prove his manliness (or at least that's what she thought he was trying to do) by doing things the muggle way.

She carefully scrutinized the mug and its contents, dramatically confirming that it wasn't poisonous or toxic, and tentatively took a sip. Scorpius rolled his eyes at her theatrics. "You know, I would've listened to the account of your heroics," The word was laced with sarcasm," without the tea."

He faked a scandalized gasp and it was her turn to roll her eyes. "I know but I've just had an absolutely fantastic day and wanted to share it with you." The fire alarm bells ringing in her head as he finished his sentence were all too familiar, recognizable as the signs that her boyfriend was up to something. They had been ringing increasingly since he and Albus had finished Auror training and she was quite used to having them echoing throughout her subconscious.

"Let's just cut to the chase. What do you want?" Another obviously counterfeit sound of offense shot through the small living space of the flat.

"Why do I have to want something?" He furrowed his eyebrows and frowned but she wasn't convinced.

"I don't know; why do you?" The no-nonsense approach to any and all manipulation had been directly inherited from her mother but the lighthearted humor in her voice made the words far less threatening than anything coming from Mrs. Weasley (Or at least that particular Mrs. Weasley) with that tone.

"Well, actually, there is something I wanted to ask you about." It didn't take the visual he was faced with to know that she was smirking. "But it wasn't all for that 'cause I actually did have a great day." He paused, waiting for some signal to continue. "Is there any possible way that we can cancel that family bonding outing my mother arranged?"

Rose barely stifled her laugh. Astoria had decided, a few months prior, that her husband and son needed to, in her words," get to know Rose's father better," Because," He's a perfectly polite and lovely man and I'm tired of you holding onto old prejudices (Rose had assumed that she had meant Draco, not Scorpius when she had said it)." And that the absolute best way to do that would be to force them to go to a Quidditch match together. There had been serious protesting of every form inquiring if the little outing was necessary but all three women had held firm and due to the partially lovesick, partially terrified- of their wives and/or significant other- status, the men had to conform.  
"You mean to tell me that you buttered me up and acted like a complete idiot because you're afraid of my dad?"

"Of course I'm not scared of your dad, however rational that fear would be. I'm merely concerned about the safety of anyone in that stadium once the two of them are within ten meters of each other." It really wasn't too difficult to visualize the stadium flattened from the types of curses sure to be used in a fight between the two adults, but, unfortunately for Scorpius, the image was enough persuasion.

"Scor, I don't think I could get you out of this if I wanted to. Both of our mothers were quite insistent. However, if you want to take the decision up with them, I'm sure they would be open to your perspective on the situation."

"Okay, that's not going to happen then. So, now that my pitiful begging is out of the way, d'you want to hear what happened today?" Rose looked at the clock on the wall before shaking her head, actually slightly disappointed.

"We have to meet Al and Alice, but you can tell me afterwards." With a wave of her wand, she cleaned the mugs and had them back in place. She stood, shoving Scorpius' legs off her, pulled him upright, straightened out her t-shirt, and together, they disapparated to the Three Broomsticks to meet their friends.

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**Author's Note**

**Sorry, I was a bit late but in the grand scheme of things, a couple of days really wasn't going to do anything right? I also hadn't really decided on a specific updating schedule, but I think that this will work, so expect the next update in about a month. Sorry that these are going to be really slow, but in the end, I think it will help balance my schedule.**

**Thank you to jumpingandfalling (AKA Jay) for reviewing. I appreciate your support.**

**Question of the Chapter:**

**What is your favorite YouTube Channel (Or TV show if you aren't a YouTube addict like me)?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Harry Potter... but feel free to check back in next week. **

**The Art of Disguise (Sort of)**

**Dedication: StoryWriter831 (Thank you for catching and alerting me to my typo)**

The Black Cat pub was nestled inside quite possibly the smallest alleyway opening on the west side of London and undoubtedly held the title of least alluring curb appeal. It was the sort of place that mothers would hurry their children past for fear of kidnappers or pickpockets, and considered the black sheep of the district. It was also the best kept secret. In fact, the only reason that Scorpius and Al had ever found out about the peculiar bar was because they'd stumbled in, completely plastered, passed out and woke up to the owner nursing their hangover.

But while the "decorations (Because honestly, you couldn't be of sound mind and consider voodoo dolls and scalped heads decorations)" warded off any unwanted muggle visitors- and most likely half of the potential customers- the ebony doors gave way to a rather comfortable atmosphere. The dark gold interior walls were covered with Quidditch posters and newspapers alike, their images winking and flashing into movement as patrons walked by. From behind the bar table, the bartender, a big burly man called King, caught Scorpius' eye and nodded in the direction of one of the worn wood tables. The blonde, seeing his friends where he had just been directed, waved thanks and began pulling a willing Rose over to them.

"Hey Rosie, Scorp." The witch in question glared at Al, and he paused for a minute before turning to his best friend, who slid into the adjacent seat. "Did you see the match last night? Merlin, Breight was brilliant."

Scorpius nodded in confirmation before letting a knowing smile slip across his lips and replying. "So, I guess that you'll be cheering for Pride versus Cannons for the cup, then? Mr. Weasley will be proud." He didn't have to look at Rose to know that she was rolling her eyes. Despite her father's attempts at converting her, she remained insistent that Puddlemere was far better than the Cannons. Even so, he was nothing if not persistent and continued playing advocate for the "underdogs."

"I expect your brother isn't going to be too happy with you for that. Does he know that you consider the Cannons on the same par as his team?" Rose and Alice looked at each other, both knowing exactly how their dear friend- boyfriend, in Alice's case- would end up once James heard _that_ particular opinion- abused and whingy.

"As a matter of fact he doesn't, but it doesn't make a difference because, as we all know, the Cannons do not play to the same level as Pride." Scorpius, Rose, and Alice's eyes widened at the sudden change in opinion but their surprise was remedied as Al continued." The Cannons are a _far_ better team than Pride, everyone knows that!" The surprise was replaced with three snorts of amusement.

"Right and I am the queen of England." Scorpius recovered first with a bout of sarcasm and scoffed at the mere idea. "Lind flies circles around Branston, and their beaters can't compete with Thomas and James." Rose nodded in agreement at the comparison. While the Cannon's seeker had a better broom, the Pride of Portree's rep, Ethan Lind, was more agile and, as a result, faster. Seekers aside, James, despite being a pain in the behind, and his partner, Sean Thomas, both had incredible aim and the other team's chasers didn't have a chance.

"That's not even including the fact that they have, arguably, some of the best chasers in for the cup. Did Keaton's record last year not prove that? Last I heard, they were saying that he broke some record." Rose added, looking at Albus, who was sporting a rather petulant pout. Though even as he felt himself losing his battle against Pride, he conceded (Mentally, because there was only so much abuse his ego could take) and had to admit that she had made a good point regarding Davis Keaton's goal record. They really should have started calling all streaks of points scored Keatons for the number of games won out of his goals alone.

Alice finished the argument quietly and pushed her boyfriend even further into the proverbial well of sulk. "Well, technically speaking, he broke the rule for most independent goals, but there's dispute as to what constitutes as an IG, so they can't credit him quite yet."

Albus, who really had no defense for the combined arguments of his friends and wished for his pride to stay somewhat intact, remained both silent and visibly frowning, letting the conversation skew slightly off topic.

"Which goal are they arguing about as to whether it qualifies? I can't think of any off the top of my head that would cause issues. "Scorpius asked, looking upwards and crinkling his eyebrows in an attempt to recall plays- a mannerism he assumed had been picked up as a variation of Rose's.

"In their match against the Arrows, James ended up accidentally hitting the Quaffle instead of the bludger, and Keaton managed to not only retrieve it but score off it without any additional interference. Because James technically isn't a chaser and really shouldn't have been in contact with the ball, it is being argued that his actions shouldn't be counted as an assist."

"It should, regardless of his position. Speaking of James, what does he think of Lily's new team? I haven't had a chance to talk with him- either of them- about it what with the dig schedule." It was a valid question from Rose's perspective. While her work as a curse breaker and resulting duties on dig sights had prevented her from meeting with her cousin, both Alice and Albus had, as she had been informed, spoken with them.

"He didn't seem overly excited that she chose Puddlemere over Pride but honestly, I think he's just proud that she's following in "his" footsteps as a professional player." Since Lily's graduation, teams had been lining up to recruit the former Holyhead Harpies' chaser's daughter and recently, her decision to accept Puddlemere's offer had been made official. While the news was brilliant at face value, since then, everyone had been holding their breaths for the inevitable conflict that would come from having siblings, particularly such famous ones, competing on opposing teams. Rose had to smile and sigh the slightest bit in relief, despite knowing that they really hadn't had to worry too much about the issue anyways as James would go to the ends of the Earth and back to protect his little sister.

"I suppose that's what we all expected. He may be right got sometimes, but when it comes to Lily..." She failed off, knowing that her point was made.

"I can't argue with that. Actually, how's the rest of the Weasley clan been? I haven't gotten a chance to speak with anyone aside from James, what with training and all." Alice had recently completed her training to become an Unspeakable, which unfortunately, as the name implied, was not allowed to be discussed. If Rose was honest with herself, she really had no idea what her friend had been doing in training, but refused to lower herself to ask, knowing full well that she wasn't permitted to know, despite her curiosity.

The redhead mentally began sorting through her family members and their chosen professions, before reciting the reorganized list back. It didn't help her efforts that the boys had sensed their drifting attention in regards to Quidditch and had continued with their own arguments, rather loudly in her opinion, without their significant others. "Well, Hugo's still sorting out that paralysis case in the states, but he said he expects to be home before too long. There's some new secret broom design that Roxy's been working on lately and Dom's changed her mind again; she's now working in some boutique in Hogsmeade. Fred is... Fred-still working at WWW, though I suspect he's a bit lonely, wreaking havoc alone, now that Quidditch season has started. Lucy's still doing well in classes, from what I've heard. Mum reckons she's a more loving version of her father." Alice smiled a bit at the final comment.

"Molly still working for the newspaper from H-E-Double Broomstick?" It was Rose's turn to smile, an amused grin sliding onto her face at the family nickname for the Daily Prophet. Rather surprisingly, though, it had actually been instituted by Lucy when she'd found out her older sister's job. Every jaw had dropped at the notion that sweet little Lucy would ever be so opinionated, but it had to be taken into account the truth behind the statement. Merlin knows how much trouble that newspaper had caused their family.

"Yes, she's still as adamant as ever that it can be changed for the better with someone to check the facts on board."

Alice scoffed, but Rose's grin only widened."" 'If you can consider anything in that newspaper fact." The rivalry between the _Quibbler_ and the _Prophet_ was infamous and Alice, as a very close family friend of the Lovegood/Scamanders had been drawn into the feud.

"She was actually just telling me how her partner hasn't been coming into work and how she's had to do the editing herself. I thought she sounded a bit cross, but you'll have to judge that for yourself the next time you see her." At the nod of Alice's head in a sort of lazy agreement, the two girls fell into companionable silence (Or rather, they were silent, and the rest of the world screamed at the top of its lungs to make up for it).

"Did Scorpius tell you his 'news from the Auror department?'"

"I think he tried to earlier, but we he had to leave." Rose shrugged lightly. Honestly, she thought she knew what he'd been trying to tell her, but

"They caught Mourne earlier this morning. Apparently, he's to be tried on Monday morning." Alice's somewhat nonchalant tone regarding the serial killer made Rose's jaw drop slightly. That wasn't exactly what she had thought he'd been saying."Personally, I think the Ministry is trying to expedite the process to guarantee his cell in Azkaban."

"How many counts do they have him on? There is no way he's walking with 20 odd counts of murder hanging over him."

"Who knows what he's capable of?" On that upbeat (Note the sarcasm) note, the girls once again fell into a comfortable silence before eventually rejoining the boys. They flitted between conversations for a while longer before a mutual agreement was reached that the night had come to a close. Each couple grabbed their respective belongings and Alice and Albus were about to leave when Scorpius called out to the latter with an altogether too pleased look embedded on his sharp feature. Then, to Al's horror and Rose's half (Because really, how could she not have expected it?) surprise, the blonde reached over a pulled Rose in for a rather heated snog. The female in question's cousin immediately turned a fantastic combination of green and red as the other three burst out into peals of laughter. Then, as soon as Al's face had returned to its normal pigment and he'd stopped muttering profanities about his friend under his breath, both couples disapparated with a pop for the second time that night.

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**Author's Note**

**First of all, sorry about the weird spacing. The program that I wrote this on had messed up settings. Secondly, I would just like to throw it out there that I am not English and therefore, don't know how to use certain sayings/slang correctly. So, feel free to correct me if I'm messing it up.**

**I would just like to make a shoutout to StoryWriter831, because his/her review reminded me that writing should be something to relive stress and to express yourself, rather than a chore. So, as I realized that lesson, I ended up completely rewriting this chapter and replacing the one I had already typed up. Thank you.**

**Also, a special thank you to Jay (Is this still jumpingandfalling?), StoryWriter831, once again, and Viola117 for their reviews.**

**Question of the Chapter**

**Supposedly, there are two basic types of people in the world (I'm not sure whether I agree with that), Math/Science and English/Arts.**

**So, are you a math and science person or do you lean towards English?**


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